Concerns for chickens in heatwave

There are fears the heatwave may create more problems for an egg producer at Young which is still recovering from a bout of avian flu.

Langfield Pastoral Company lost 400,000 hens during the avian influenza scare last October.

The chairman of the New South Wales Farmers Egg Committee, Bede Bourke, says the company has recently restocked but may not have had enough time to adequately prepare the newly-bought birds for extreme heat.

"A farm that's been out of action for three months like the infected properties were - making sure all that equipment works, you can't get it working until you get birds in there," he said.

"You really want to be in Spring or Autumn when you're doing a big housing like that.

"Although, having said that, they're very experienced people and know how to handle the birds in the heat."